I am the grandmother of a baby girl with Down syndrome who underwent open heart surgery to repair the three holes in her heart. Needless to say, we were all scared to death. While she was undergoing surgery, Erin came down to the waiting room, introduced herself and then took my daughter and son in law on a tour so that they could see where their baby girl would come back to. She also told my other daughter to keep the parents occupied and fed.
Once my granddaughter came to Erin's unit, Erin seemed to just anticipate her every need. Erin went above and beyond what her duty as a nurse dictated. Besides being right on top of her vitals, Erin swabbed out her mouth carefully when it was all crusty from dry mouth; and when she had a fever, Erin gave her a cold bath. Erin even did a craft with her, doing her footprint in red, white, and blue colors on paper which she attached to her crib and now has followed her to the step down unit. My daughter will probably keep that picture forever.
I brought her 5-year-old girl cousin for a visit and Erin warmly welcomed her. Erin even got a table and another chair and obtained crayons for her to make pictures for her cousin. Erin made it feel like a normal day with no stress. Unfortunately, we didn't get to have Erin the next day because she was leaving for Texas. We really missed her! We will always remember her kindness and gentleness with our baby girl and how she made having a baby in CICU much less scary.